Naruto cursed the heat in his cheeks as he practically ran down the hall. That man unnerved him; he was cruel and daunting, yet right as he left . . . Naruto shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. He pushed his way through a doorway, and stopped as if he had hit an invisible wall. The door closed slowly as he stared around, his jaw dropping.

"What the . . ."

The room was huge and seemed never ending. It felt so wide open, covered in beautiful yet strange plants. Thin and thick ones, pearlescent ones and ones with deep color, spotted ones and translucent ones. The ceiling reached so high, it was like he was outside. Silver moonlight hung on everything, dripping off to fall to the ground. A single stone path led the way through the trees and foliage, and Naruto found himself following it.

The room was serene and quiet, cool but just warm enough. 'Man it's nice in here. Papa would like this.' Naruto thought, face falling a bit. He missed his parents. Shaking the feeling off to deal with later, he walked for a bit.

Soon he came to what felt like the exact center of the room. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. A small pond was situated there, flat stone path surrounding it. The water was crystal clear and sparkling, and the water was moving in ripples as if there was someone letting a single droplet of water splash into the center continuously. It was beautiful, the slight fog around it making the area seem all the more enchanting.

"Wow. . ." He breathed, surveying the scene. "It's . . .

"Beautiful." A voice finished. Naruto jumped in shock, turning to look to his right. A boy came moving through the trees and fog, coming to a stop at the edge of the tree ring, his hand on a trunk. The voice's owner was a petite boy whose hair shown like crimson blood. His eyes were a clear green-blue, and were shrouded by a black ring. He had to be shorter than five foot two, and he was lean. He eyes and expression betrayed no emotion. The voice was raspy, deep, and tired; it didn't fit the boy at all. "You must be him."

"Who?" Naruto asked cautiously, backing up a step as the other boy stepped forward.

"The new sacrifice." The boy continued, making his way over to the pond. His kimono flowed around him like moonlight itself, the pure white material making his skin seem paler. He seemed like one with his surroundings, almost blending with the night air. "Lord Sasuke picked you."

"Yeah, he did." Naruto watched as the small redhead knelt slowly before the pond, his unemotional eyes on the ripples the water created. "Who are you?"

"Gaara. Who are you?"

"Naruto."

They were both silent for a moment, sizing each other up. Naruto was fairly certain he could take the redhead if he had to, but he didn't think he was in immediate danger. Gaara's eyes traveled over his profile, them back up until they rested on his cheek.

"He hit you." Gaara stated simply.

"I hit him back." Naruto replied quickly. Shock shone in the other boy's eyes. Shock and respect.

"Did you?"

"Yeah. Broke his nose earlier too." Naruto said, smirking very slightly, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Gaara bowed his head, hand over his mouth. By the slight shaking of his shoulders, Naruto had to guess he was laughing softly. The boy calmed after a moment, looking back up.

"Would you like company?" When Naruto nodded, Gaara motioned to the spot in the soft grass beside him. Still a bit hesitant, Naruto walked over and sat slowly, about a foot from the redhead. Gaara's eyes were on the ripples again.

"Why is this room like this?" Naruto asked after a while. "I mean, it's like were outside and its night!"

Gaara nodded. "A valid question. The room is how I want it to be. I've enchanted it to change into whatever I'd like." Naruto blinked blue eyes, mouth a open slightly as he tried to find the words to express his reply. "It becomes what I think."

"Magic then?"

"I guess." Gaara shrugged thin shoulders.

"It can be anything?"

"Yes. But it typically responds better to things in strong memories."

"So, you could have it change in a desert? Or a farm? Or my hometown?"

"Yes." Suddenly, the room around them seemed to melt, and Naruto looked around in alarm. The plants seemed to liquefy and puddle into the ground before being soaked up. The mystical plants were gone then, replaced by thick, sturdy trunks. Birds called in the distance, and the chattering of monkeys could be heard. The sun was blazing down on them, as a warm, misty rain fell down on them. Naruto shouted in shock, looking around as he jumped up and move under the cover of tree branches.

Gaara on the other hand sat very still next to the pond that had remained as the room had changed. His eyes were closed and colored black, his Kimono becoming lightly soaked as he knelt in the now wet grass. He let out a slow breath, eyes opening slightly. "I have been to a tropical rain forest before. The animals were quite endearing."

Naruto just glanced around in awe. "Wow. . . So we're inside, but outside in a forest in the rain at the same time?"

"Not really. This is all an illusion." The room slowly melted back to what it had been, and it didn't startle the blonde as much this time. "Nothing's real. Not even the rain or moon." His kimono was now perfectly dry, his eyes upturned in the moonlight. Naruto found his seat beside the redhead again.

A few ravens croaked from above them, sitting on a branch. They watched the two boys, cocking their heads to the side to look down with beady black eyes. Shrill calls came from elsewhere in the mystical forest, wind blowing gently through the tree branches.

Gaara was staring into the water again, eyes unreadable, but he seemed to be trembling. Naruto's head tilted to the side in confusion, tentatively reaching a tan hand to lay it on the boy's shoulder. The skin and fabric there were icy, shocking him.

"Are you all right?"

Gaara looked towards him, but through him, as if he was looking into the past. The breeze teased his red locks, pulling them back to reveal an old jagged scar on his forehead. It was the Kanji for love, brilliantly red in color that seemed etched into the skin there. It was clearly self-inflicted by an unpracticed hand. What captivated Naruto was the fact that it seemed familiar.

"Not yet." Gaara replied softly, hand slowly reaching to swish through the water. The current was undeterred, as if his hand wasn't moving through it after all. "Not quite yet." The answer wasn't really an answer at all, but Naruto left it alone. When the silence became stifling to Naruto, he broke it.

"Is Sasuke as much of an asshole as he seems?"

"What do you think?" Gaara's reply wasn't sarcastic or cutting, instead, it was thought provoking.

The man had showed him nothing but cruelty, pain, and anger since he had come to the island. The moment his feet had landed on this foreign soil, Sasuke had demanded submission, and they had fought. Maybe it was the fact that they were both Alpha males, thought Naruto's dominance was definitely not as apparent. The man was a cold beauty with a penchant for snide comments and a temper to boot.

"I . . . don't know." Naruto answered honestly. "I know he takes kids and either rapes or eats them, so that makes him an awful person."

"He is a demon; they have to eat to survive, so you must take that into account." Gaara admonished.

"But do they have to eat flesh?"

"That or drink their blood."

Naruto snickered a bit. "Like a vampire?"

"But worse." Gaara granted him a tiny and quick smile before turning serious again. "But he's not the worst I've had the displeasure of meeting." Naruto must have looked confused, because Gaara just shook his head. "Another time."

Naruto stood after a few moments of silence, stretching his limbs. "I should probably go find a room to sleep in. Thanks, ah, for the talk." He smiled at the redheaded boy. "Um, which way is the exit?" Gaara pointed to his right, stones seemingly breaking the surface of the grass to create a walk way, flowers that glowed lining the sides of it.

"That way."

"Thanks man." With a grin sent the other boy's way, Naruto headed down the walkway. A soft voice called after him.

"I hope you don't die, Naruto . . ."

A/N: Well! There it is! The seventh chapter! I was so excited to introduce Gaara properly, and give some insight to him. Along with hint at a further mystery! ;) Also, can I say I hate how my last few chapters have turned out? I don't know if I should continue or give this up. Let me know what you think!

Also, I plan to do a question and answer segment! So if you have a question, leave it in a review ALONG with what you thought! And if it's not too revealing (and even if it's random!), I'll reply to it in a separate chapter or an author's note, along with a couple characters help! Maybe I'll even leave it to them to answer! So leave me (or a character) a question and we'll answer! Until then!